e earth; painted the beauties of
dawning nature; shown the origin of agriculture and the arts;
described the social advancement of families, tribes and nations;
exhibited the short-comings and the excellencies of patriarchal and of
monarchical forms of government; exposed the warrings and bickerings
among men; told of the manner in which a people escaped from bondage
and raised themselves on the wreck of thrones, principalities, and
powers, to greatness; published the laws by which that most chosen
people were governed; and dwelt upon the perversity of human nature;
and as other men, divinely inspired, have sublimely represented the
highest stages of Jewish civilisation, so did I propose to myself to
exhibit the rise of Canada from a primitive condition to its present
state of advancement. My first great difficulty was to obtain a
publisher. There could only be a very few persons who would run the
risk of publishing a mere history of Canada, even with all these
fanciful excellencies, produced by one unknown to fame. But "where
there is a will, there is a way," and about the middle of the month of
June last, I had succeeded in disposing of a book, then scarcely
begun, to Mr. Peter Sinclair, Bookseller, John Street, in the City of
Quebec. That gentleman, with characteristic spirit and liberality,
agreed to become my publisher, and until the 17th day of September, I
read and wrote diligently, having written, in round numbers, about a
thousand pages of foolscap and brought to a conclusion the first
rebellion. Then the work of printing was begun, and the correction of
all the proofs together with the editorial management of a newspaper,
have since afforded me sufficient occupation. Mr. McMullen, of
Brockville, has, however, produced a history of this country from its
discovery to the present time, almost as if he had been influenced by
motives similar to those which have influenced me. His pictures,
however, are not my pictures, nor his sentiments my sentiments. The
books--although the facts are the same and necessarily derived from
the same sources--are essentially different. He is most elaborate in
the beginning, I become more and more particular with regard to
details towards the close--I expand with the expansion of the country.
In the first chapter of this first volume, the history of the province
while under French rule is rapidly traced, and the history of the New
England Colonies dipped into, with the view of showing